Herman Cain shines in debate

I watched the South Carolina Republican presidential debate Thursday, and I thought Herman Cain won hands down.

But I was tickled by the fact that virtually the entire focus group assembled by GOP pollster Frank Luntz agreed with my assessment.

Why did he win?

Because he has strong convictions and knows how to articulate them.

He didn't just win the debate – he blew the competition away.

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And I have more news for you. I know Herman Cain personally. I've seen him in many other venues. I've heard him speak many times. This may come as a shock to the rest of the Republican presidential cast, but Herman Cain was not even at his best Thursday night.

It took him a while to warm up.

It must be a little intimidating to find yourself on national television for the first time debating as a presidential candidate. Knowing Herman Cain, I suspect that actually meant something to him. He's not an actor playing a presidential candidate. He's the real deal, motivated to action only, I suspect, by his deep love of country, not mere ambition.

So what am I saying here?

Am I saying I have found my presidential candidate to oppose Barack Obama's re-election in 2012?

Well, I've found at least one entirely acceptable to me. I will keep an open mind on some of the others.

But I like Herman Cain. I haven't found anything to dislike about him. He's charming, charismatic, bold, funny and principled.

What's not to like about that?

What else did I learn about the candidates Thursday night?

I learned that not that long ago Tim Pawlenty, like Newt Gingrich, was pushing the global warming hoax, the carbon dioxide crisis. He explained it was all a mistake. He only supported "studying" cap-and-trade laws. He discovered it was a bad idea and has run away from it ever since.

Fine. I take him at his word. Congratulations on finally getting it right.

But, I have to tell you, any presidential candidate who has ever fallen for the fraud of "climate change" is off my list of possibilities.

Anyone in public life who has ever demonstrated such poor judgment and discernment as to buy into Al Gore's lies simply is not qualified to be the leader of the free world. End of story.

I liked Ron Paul's answer as to why he would vote to freeze the debt limit and how Washington could possibly cut $1 trillion from annual spending cold turkey: "Well, if we just get back to doing what's constitutional, we shouldn't have a problem," he said.

Exactly! This is another prerequisite for the man or woman who will oppose Obama in 2012. We need someone who is going to say no to federal borrowing any time except in a national emergency – like a full-fledged war. That's the only time debt is an acceptable possibility as far as I am concerned. We couldn't have won World War II without debt. Other than that, it has been totally unnecessary and destructive ever since.

I agree with the Luntz crowd that Rick Santorum was the second-most impressive candidate among the debaters Thursday night. But he's got a tough hill to climb once the number of debaters starts to increase.

I think Herman Cain scored a tremendous victory in his long-shot campaign for the presidency by going toe to toe with these seasoned politicians and outshining them all.

I'm sure many other Americans are feeling good about the fact that there is at least one exciting candidate in the Republican field already.